President Obama’s Re-Election Secures Health Care Reform

President Obama has officially been re-elected and will be spending the next four years in the White House. This implies, for many, that health care reform will stay intact and Americans can expect full implementation by the end of 2014. The fate of health care reform has been hanging by a thread the past few years as it faced quite a bit of opposition from Americans who disagreed with the details.

One of the main aspects of The Affordable Care Act requires each American to obtain health insurance coverage or face a penalty. This controversial ruling is an important part of health care reform running smoothly. Are all Americans ready to start sifting through all of the complex health insurance options that are currently out there? This has yet to be determined.

American is already experiencing some of the effects of health care reform since some of the elements have been implemented already. This includes the provision that guarantees patients with pre-existing conditions access to health insurance and another provision that ensures young adults can stay on their parents’ health insurance policies through the age of 26. The number of Americans without health insurance dropped for the first time in four years based on a report from US Census Bureau, which suggest health law may be steering us in the right direction after all.

The Department of Health and Human Services recently reported that over 3.1 million young Americans ages 19-25 who would have otherwise been without insurance are now covered. Many health insurance companies started offering parental coverage to young adults before they were required to do so as a measure to be well-prepared and also to stay competitive. The success of the Affordable Care Act does rely heavily on the hope that insurance companies will remain competitive as more and more individuals shop around for a health insurance quote.

Medicare will be experiencing some changes as well thanks to President Obama’s health care plan. Starting in 2013, Americans will start seeing larger Medicare taxes to help cover new federal subsidies that millions of people will get when they purchase a health insurance policy. According to Emily Jane Fox’s article on Money.CNN.com, health care reform will be including a surtax on wage income over a certain level for a Medicare tax on investment income. This will apply to those making $200,000 a year, or a couple making $250,000 a year.

A sigh of relief was heard across the nation from the supporters of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act when the announcement was made confirming the re-election of the President. There is still a lot of work that needs to go into the state’s various health insurance exchanges as well as the details of the health insurance mandate, but it seems clearer than ever that health care reform is here to stay, at least for awhile.